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(RSF/IFEX) - At least three Palestinian journalists have been physically attacked by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank in the past 10 days while a Palestinian journalist and an Israeli journalist have been arrested.

"The incidents are increasing," Reporters Without Borders said. "More than 30 journalists have been physically attacked and injured by members of the Israel Defence Forces since the start of the year. We again call on the IDF to investigate these cases and punish the soldiers responsible."

In one of the latest incidents, Israeli soldiers fired a tear-gas grenade at Youssef Shaheen, a cameraman with the satellite TV station Al-Quds, on 23 May 2010 while he was covering the weekly protest against the Israeli separation wall in Beit Jala (a village 10 km south of Jerusalem). He was overcome by gas and was rushed to a hospital for treatment.

Israeli soldiers also fired a tear-gas grenade at Harun Amayra, the correspondent of the government newspaper "Falestin", while he was covering the weekly protest against the separation wall in Bili'n, near Ramallah, on 14 May. Amayra was already attacked twice by Israeli soldiers in March.

While filming participants in the 14 May protest, Alaa Abou Al-Saoud, a cameraman with the satellite TV station Al-Sharqia, was detained by Israeli soldiers and was not released until about 9:00 p.m., after questioning.

Ahmed Frage of the daily "Al-Ayyam" was travelling to work in Ramallah by taxi at midday on 15 May when Israeli soldiers at the Hazma checkpoint asked him to show his ID. Frage responded by showing them both his ID card and his press card. As soon as the soldiers realised he was a journalist, they made him get out of the taxi and hit him. Doctors told him to take a week off work because of the serious injuries he received.

Israeli photo-journalist Israel Poterman was detained by Israeli soldiers while covering the weekly demonstration against the separation wall in Bili'n on 21 May.

In February, it was reported that the military censor had instructed dozens of bloggers and administrators of major social media accounts to submit security-related items for prepublication review, expanding a practice previously in place for traditional media.

Despite state-sponsored repression and social stigma, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the Middle East and North Africa are finding ways to speak out. They are telling their stories, building alliances, networking across borders, developing national and regional movements, and finding creative ways to combat homophobia and transphobia.

Despite state-sponsored repression and social stigma, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the Middle East and North Africa are finding ways to speak out. They are telling their stories, building alliances, networking across borders, developing national and regional movements, and finding creative ways to combat homophobia and transphobia.

In view of the examination of Guatemala before the Human Rights Committee in March 2018, the Centre for Informative Reports on Guatemala (CERIGUA), with the support of IFEX and the International Network for Human Rights (RIDH), produced an alternative report on the aforementioned issues covering the time- period between 2012 and February 2018, the month in which this report was completed.

Covering women’s issues does not come without danger. A female editor was murdered for denouncing a sexist policy. A reporter was imprisoned for interviewing a rape victim. A woman reporter was physically attacked for defending access to tampons, while a female blogger was threatened online for criticizing a video game. For International Women’s Day, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) wants to turn the spotlight on violence against journalists covering these issues. This report does not address the status of women journalists, equal employment of women in journalism or sexist (or non-sexist) attitudes in the media. These issues have been widely covered and debated elsewhere. This report focuses specifically on threats and violence against both men and women reporters covering women’s rights.

Freedom Forum monitored FoE during the elections as it concerns citizens' freedom of expression through the ballot box. Therefore, any action creating an unfavourable atmosphere for the elections is also a violation of freedom of expression.

A recent HKJA survey indicates a slight rise in the Hong Kong Press Freedom Index after two consecutive years of decline. Journalists on the ground believe that the situation has worsened in 2016, compared to the year before. HKJA chairperson Sham Yee-lan explained that the slight increase in the Press Freedom Index was likely to be related to the emergence of online media, which has led to some diversity in the industry.

This report presents the findings of a three-month study focused on mapping, observing and analysing online harassment of journalists in Hungary. The study aimed to identify the types of harassment journalists are subject to, which journalists are typically harassed, who the harassers are, and how journalists cope with harassment.

Combining both violent and nonviolent methods, the Communist Party's policies are designed to curb the rapid growth of religious communities and eliminate certain beliefs and practices, while also harnessing aspects of religion that could serve the regime's political and economic interests.

Many journalists increasingly practice self-censorship, fearing retribution from security forces, military intelligence, and militant groups. Media outlets in 2016 remained under pressure to avoid reporting on or criticising human rights violations in counterterrorism operations. The Taliban and other armed groups threatened media outlets and targeted journalists and activists for their work.

Chinese authorities' enforced disappearance of critics from Hong Kong and other countries in 2016 garnered headlines globally. Beijing's decision to interfere in a politically charged court case in Hong Kong in November undermined judicial independence and the territory's autonomy. In the ethnic minority regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, Beijing continued its highly repressive rule, curtailing political activity and many peaceful expressions of ethnic and religious identity.

Bangladesh witnessed a spate of violent attacks against secular bloggers, academics, gay rights activists, foreigners, and members of religious minorities in 2016. Several laws were proposed during the year to increase restrictions on freedom of expression.

Freedom Forum observed a relatively peaceful atmosphere for the media this year (2016) with a significant decline in the number of press freedom violations. FF recorded only 25 incidents of press freedom violations during 2016 versus 83 in 2015.

Pakistan is among the countries that do not properly investigate and prosecute crimes against media professionals. Because of the near absolute level of impunity, most of the people who attack, injure or even murder media journalists in Pakistan remain free.

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